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dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abortion and Death
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Drug use, and War
avesmaria's review against another edition
4.0
Just read this for the first time since middle school, and it's better than I remembered, so I'm taking my rating up to 4 stars.
Cat's Eye is the story of a middle-aged painter looking back on her life, especially friendships with other girls in her youth and the eventual unraveling of those relationships. While it lacks some of the inventive sci-fi/dystopian settings of some of my favorite Atwood novels, it's still got her signature voice. It's a novel I appreciate much more now, as an adult navigating an artistic career and parenthood, than I did as a young teenager.
Cat's Eye is the story of a middle-aged painter looking back on her life, especially friendships with other girls in her youth and the eventual unraveling of those relationships. While it lacks some of the inventive sci-fi/dystopian settings of some of my favorite Atwood novels, it's still got her signature voice. It's a novel I appreciate much more now, as an adult navigating an artistic career and parenthood, than I did as a young teenager.
teh_niarr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, War, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
g96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rosannaevanscornwall's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
haave's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mitskacir's review against another edition
4.0
Alright, literally nothing happens in this book but somehow I still really enjoyed it. This is definitely fueled by character development and relationships, not plot, and is mainly a rumination on female friendships and girlhood and how they shape and haunt a person. I really love Atwood's writing and was riveted by the day-to-day experiences of the young girl protagonist Elaine, and felt anxious and gutted by the way her "friends" treated her. I empathized with how Elaine's emotions towards Cordelia morphed and changed throughout her life - shame, denial, forgetfulness, spite, indifference, guilt, longing, to name a few. I myself have felt the complexity of female friendships and the way a friendship can be colored differently as the years pass, and felt like this book articulated many of those feelings very poignantly. Also, surprisingly, I actually liked the descriptions of Elaine's artwork and what it is like to be an artist - usually books about artists feel artificial and pretentious, but I really could visualize Elaine's art and was compelled by it.
missmarycrawford's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Abortion
rosewolfeemery's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. I've only read The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin, but this is my favourite Atwood novel so far.
Cat's Eye perfectly captures the fear and dependency that characterises the relationship between a childhood bully and her victim. The "spectre" of Cordelia resonates so powerfully throughout the book - not because she's a particularly cruel or interesting character (it's fairly easy to work out why she became a bully), but how she imprinted herself so indelibly on our protagonist.
My favourite parts of the book occur when Elaine begins to dissociate from the reality of her situation. I also appreciated the shifting dynamics between the four girls - how a victim can resort to bullying herself, and how changing circumstances can appear to disrupt a power balance.
I haven't given Cat's Eye five stars simply because I found Elaine's adulthood less interesting than her childhood; I feel like the book would have been just as good if it had ended 100 pages sooner. I was also hoping for some sort of emotional payoff at the end, but that wouldn't have been realistic.
Cat's Eye perfectly captures the fear and dependency that characterises the relationship between a childhood bully and her victim. The "spectre" of Cordelia resonates so powerfully throughout the book - not because she's a particularly cruel or interesting character (it's fairly easy to work out why she became a bully), but how she imprinted herself so indelibly on our protagonist.
My favourite parts of the book occur when Elaine begins to dissociate from the reality of her situation. I also appreciated the shifting dynamics between the four girls - how a victim can resort to bullying herself, and how changing circumstances can appear to disrupt a power balance.
I haven't given Cat's Eye five stars simply because I found Elaine's adulthood less interesting than her childhood; I feel like the book would have been just as good if it had ended 100 pages sooner. I was also hoping for some sort of emotional payoff at the end, but that wouldn't have been realistic.